North Carolina State University Athletics
Brackman willing to step outside his role
12/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2004
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, NC - Andrew Brackman isn't supposed to score.
He isn't supposed to step up to the top of the key and take a 3-pointer to start the second half, particularly after his team had just missed 10 of its 11 first-half shots from beyond the arc. That stat, in particular, was one of the reasons why Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek left NC State's locker room at halftime and told his team to figure things out for themselves.
So when Wednesday night's game against Louisiana-Lafayette game was over, and Brackman stood nervously at mid-court awaiting his post-game television interview, he was a little stunned, and really happy, to be getting so much attention following the 20-point performance in the 78-72 victory at the RBC Center.
"My role is to go get after it and to rebound and to play defense," said Brackman, who looked he was still afraid of getting lectured for scoring too many points. "It's not to score. But we were on the ropes and we needed someone to step up, and I was glad to be able to give our team a little boost of energy."
The 6-10 freshman forward from Cincinnati, whose primary distinction thus far is his intention to play both basketball and baseball for the Wolfpack, managed to energize the RBC Center crowd with a follow dunk of an Ilian Evtimov miss with 10:23 to play. It gave the Wolfpack a 49-48 lead, and State never trailed again.
Brackman continued to play hard, blocking shots and getting rebounds. In other words, doing all the things he was supposed to do, while contributing the unexpected points. He finished the game with a career-high 20 points, plus four rebounds and three blocked shots. He made all six of his shots from the field, and seven of his eight free throws.
"Coach really emphasized getting the ball inside on them," Brackman said. "Their inside guys really weren't qualified to guard me, and when I got the ball inside I was able to score."
He offered a good pick-me-up on a night when senior All-America Julius Hodge struggled to find his shooting touch. Hodge appreciated the support.
"Andrew was definitely an electric spark for us tonight," Hodge said. "He hit is free throws, he got his rebounds and he did a lot of good things for us."
As for Brackman's assessment that he shouldn't be putting the ball in the basket, Hodge scoffed.
"It's really early in the season right now," Hodge said. "We are all redefining our roles every day. At first he was just supposed to be out there blocking shots and rebounding, but his role is changing every day. He's a very good young player."
Added Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek: ``Without him, we might not have won tonight.''
But Brackman can't help but be a harsh critic. He wasn't particularly fond of his biggest play of the night.
"I don't think it was very good at all,'' Brackman said of the wobbly handed jam. "I barely got my hand on it. It was really weak."
It was, however, the spark that the Wolfpack needed to shake off the Rajin' Cajuns.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
